08/10/2007

By ANNIE FLANZRAICH  / Associated Press

Traffic could choke for 30 miles, all the way south to Tacoma, in the state Department of Transportation's worst-case scenario for renovation of a crucial stretch of northbound Interstate 5.

The work of repaving 1.13 miles of the freeway, and repairing or replacing key areas, starts late Friday night and is scheduled to end Aug. 29.

In the best case, more than half of the 126,000 vehicles that typically use that stretch of freeway daily will find different routes or avoid traveling at all. Then traffic might be sluggish but still able to move during the 19-day project, DOT spokeswoman Meghan Soptich said.

Either way, department officials are worried.

"If we do have free-flowing traffic, we're worried drivers will think the construction is not that big of a deal," Soptich said.

If drivers underestimate the impact, and return en masse during a later stage of construction when the northbound freeway could be constricted to just one lane, the department thinks traffic could slow to a dribble, or even stall entirely.

"It would be horrendous," Soptich said.

What's the plan? If drivers can't stay away, they're urged to try alternate surface streets or travel at non-peak hours. King County Metro is adding 15 more buses to try to keep routes on schedule. Special rates are being offered for van pools. More passenger-only ferry runs are being added between Seattle and Vashon Island and even the water taxi between downtown Seattle and West Seattle will run more often.

In case of emergencies, an additional medical evacuation helicopter is being based at Boeing Field, south of the construction.

Crews will be working in an area between Spokane Street and Interstate 90, south of downtown Seattle. Besides repaving, they will replace or repair deteriorating expansion joints that connect concrete freeway deck slabs.

In the first stage, scheduled from 10 p.m. Friday until early Monday morning, two of the four northbound lanes will be closed, as will four freeway ramps. There will be no eastbound Interstate 90 access from northbound I-5.

More ramps will open during next week's second stage, from Monday, Aug. 13, through Friday Aug. 17, and drivers will be able to travel eastbound onto I-90. There will be no access from northbound lanes to the Fourth Avenue South off-ramp.

During the remaining three stages, from Aug. 18 to Aug. 29, as many as three lanes will be closed on the left side of the freeway, potentially narrowing it to just one northbound lane.

The speed limit through that segment of freeway will be 45 mph during the entire project. There will be no high-occupancy-vehicle lane in the construction zone.

To keep traffic flowing, State Patrol dispatchers will be able to send tow trucks to collisions and disabled vehicles before troopers actually arrive at the scene.

The State Patrol Aviation Section will also use several of its video-equipped aircraft to help the Transportation Department and troopers in King County monitor traffic on the freeway and surface streets.

"We've been planning and gearing up for this for a long time," Trooper Jeff Merrill said.

Airlift Northwest plans to add another helicopter, based out of Boeing Field, to provide quicker transit for northbound medical emergency cases.

Traveling by taxi between Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport could cost more since the City of Seattle is suspending the standard $28 flat rate for a ride from downtown to the airport. During the construction, meters will determine the cab fare. It could be $35 if a taxi is moving at a regular speed or a 40-minute delay could add $20 to the total.

Transit alternatives include the following:

_ King County Metro says it will have 15 extra buses ready to use on south-end routes starting Monday to try to keep bus travelers on schedule. Metro suggests riders catch their buses at large park-and-ride lots that serve multiple routes to have more options.

_ Van pools will allowed in designated bus-and-truck lanes of Airport Way South during the construction. A month's commute on an eight-person van for an average 55-mile round trip usually costs about $82 per rider. For August, new van pools created in response to the I-5 construction will cost just $45 per person.

_ The Elliott Bay Water Taxi plans to add another weekday crossing from West Seattle to downtown each morning besides its usual five weekday morning trips to Seattle. Fares are $3 each way.

_ Sound Transit will also add a fifth trip on the southline to its weekday commuter-rail, starting Monday.

_ Also starting Monday, Washington State Ferries will offer additional passenger-only sailings between Seattle and Vashon Island during both the morning and afternoon.

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On the Web:

Washington Department of Transportation: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/

King County Metro Transit: http://transit.metrokc.gov/

Sound Transit: http://www.soundtransit.org.

Washington State Patrol: http://www.wsp.wa.gov/

Washington State Ferries: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/